


Dreams Are Free (When You're A Hero)

by SuperficialPeasant



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 3x22 coda, Alec Lightwood Being A Sassy Gay, Alec lightwood-bane, Fluff, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane Being Magnus Bane, Malec, Malec Being Disgustingly Happy, Shadowhunters - Freeform, Wedding Planning, getting married, magnus lightwood-bane, newlyweds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 11:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18690622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperficialPeasant/pseuds/SuperficialPeasant
Summary: In which Alec and Magnus fantasize an outrageous wedding at the Clave’s expense, and get a better deal anyway.





	Dreams Are Free (When You're A Hero)

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever attempt at writing and finishing a fic within 24 hours. Whoohoo motivation! Where on earth did you come from?!
> 
> Slight spoilers for 3x22 - if you haven’t already seen the latest Malec sneak peek and don't want to be spoiled, then don't read. Some of the first bits of dialogue in this fic are also from the sneak peek - meaning they belong to the show, and they're not mine. Also, I reimagined said sneak peek where it _should_ have taken place - in bed. Because the Malec I know aren’t allergic to morning bed snuggles like the show believes they are. 
> 
> I prompted _myself_ over on twitter with this, by confessing my fantasy of Alec invoicing the Clave for his wedding expenses. And then I ran with it, and it did a thing. And it didn't turn out to be the thing I expected, but it became the thing that I love. _Fluff._
> 
> As always, you can follow me on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/SuperficialPea) if you feel like saying hi. My first official fic outside the BLP universe holy camolies. If you want to leave comments on twitter, you can do so under the tag #DAFMalec.
> 
> ENJOY.

_Sun_.

A new day on the rise. Something he feared he might not get only yesterday, when he and his group of rebel heroes were in the midst of taking on Edom in a last ditch effort to bring Magnus home. But after fighting the hard fight, they _won_. Near the end, Alec had been ready to live out his last moments with Magnus, whether a hell realm was to be their final resting place or not. But it hadn’t come to that.

And now they’re really home, about to start another day, and it feels like a carefully packaged blessing all his own. His insides are awash in relief. All the things he feared losing - hope, happiness, love, a life with _Magnus_ \- get to pick up where they left off. The dream he’d always dreamed of was allowed to continue against all possible odds; allowed to slowly unveil its delights in the future awaiting them.

The sunlight hangs in the bedroom air like the softest of blankets, and he turns over to bask in it. The bright heat of it caresses over his bare arms, kisses his face. He smiles beneath its liveliness, sweeping his legs back and forth under the warm, snug covers with a giddiness he hasn’t felt in awhile.

That giddiness gives way to a powerful swelling joy when he finally peels his eyes open. Magnus is sitting up against the headboard, all golden skin and shapely muscle, making pen strokes on a piece of paper he cradles on a book against his bent leg. _His love_ , smiling softly as he writes, just before he casts that smile upon him and lets it _beam_.

Alec beams back, “Good morning.”

“A good morning it is,” His Warlock replies, dropping a hand to smooth through Alec’s sleep-mussed hair, “A good morning indeed.”

He takes a moment to appreciate the slowness and indulgence of Magnus’ touch, as if their miraculous return home hours earlier hadn’t spurred their bodies into passionate reacquaintance, making up for all the moments their brief separation had stolen from them. He nudges into it, encouraging Magnus’ hand onto his face, then kisses at his fingers, playfully bites the pad of his thumb. Magnus chuckles beautifully.

“What’s that?” Alec motions toward the paper, and Magnus holds it up for him to read, _“You are cordially invited to the wedding of Alexander Gideon Lightwood and Magnus Bane..._ t---tonight?”

“Why wait even a day longer?” Magnus asks, rolling his eyes at whatever grand chaos the universe might test them with next, “After everything we’ve been through, who knows what crisis will befall us tomorrow?”

“Well, I don’t know. I was hoping maybe we could...plan?”

Magnus prods at his own chest, proud and preening, “When your wedding planner is a Warlock, all you need is a little magic. And exquisite taste. The world is ours, Alexander.”

“I know,” Alec pushes up to plaster himself alongside him, looping his arms inside Magnus’ elbow. He drops a kiss to his bare shoulder, “But I’ve given it some thought, and I think perhaps we should have it at the Institute.”

Magnus, not yet understanding his intention, winces. Alec hides his grin.

“Good god, _why_.”

“ _Because_ ,” he thoughtfully explains, “it would mean the Clave have to honor and celebrate a relationship between a Shadowhunter and a Warlock.”

He kisses Magnus’ shoulder again. “Under…”

Then his neck, “their…”

His jaw, “own…”

And mouth, “roof...”

Magnus leans into him for another, and sighs contentedly when Alec supplies it in full.

“You want to shove our love down their collective throats in an _official_ capacity?”

“It’s how we started, isn’t it?” Alec grins, thinking back to their first kiss in the Institute's ceremonial hall months ago, and how several Clave members were made to watch, “Think about the message that would send to others like us.”

Magnus smirks, cocks his head in agreement. He confesses like it isn’t old news, “I always _did_ like sticking it to the Clave.”

“And not just that, but if we have it at the Institute, it would have to be formally recognized. And as the _Head_ of said Institute, that would mean all wedding expenses would be provided for.”

“The Clave would pay for our wedding?” Magnus muses, mouth agape with disbelief, “Oh, you’re diabolical.”

Alec grins widely.

“ _So_. Flowers, tuxedos, catering. All of that would be covered for anyone else. Plus paid honeymoon leave. Though I think I could negotiate a week-long stay at the Belmond Hotel Caruso---”

Magnus gasps at the possibility, “ _The Belmond…_ ”

“---or we could revisit the Four Seasons at Landaa Giraavaru…”

“ _Mmmmm_ ,” His Warlock bites his lip, the picture of spoiled temptation, “What level of extravagance could we get away with?”

“ _Well_ ,” Alec nuzzles in behind Magnus’ ear, “You did save Idris and the rest of the world from total annihilation. My Institute has been responsible for stopping Valentine, and Lilith, and now Jonathan.” He kisses Magnus’ head, his temple, “I’d say their margin for refusal is pretty slim. Besides, despite their prejudice, they’d never want to be _called_ prejudice. I think if we asked them for the shoes off their feet right now, they’d have no choice but to send them to us in gift boxes.”

Magnus chuckles, squeezing Alec’s thigh where it’s pressed against his own, “ _That_ won’t be necessary, but I do admire where your brain is at. Consider me onboard. First things first, _music_. You know, if we postpone by a few days, I _could_ wrangle together the remaining members of Queen. Freddie would have jumped at the chance to play at my wedding.”

Alec laughs, and in the spirit of fun, he shrugs, “Why not. Let’s have Queen play for us. How about gift bags for all of our honored guests?”

Magnus flips over the paper and begins jotting down, “Oooh _yes_.”

“We could include, I don’t know. A scented candle?”

“ _Customized_ scented candles. Oh, good idea. We should have those too. Our very own wedding scent.”

Alec smiles, “Sandalwood.”

Magnus gives him a praising smooch on the cheek, as if glad Alec remembers, “For me. Mixed with white pear and a touch of warm amber for you. Strong. Masculine,” he gazes to Alec with a deep, affected sigh, eyes turning mischievous, and Alec tries not to get distracted, “Good enough to eat.”

“Gift vouchers,” Alec adds, pointing at the list they’re making, “Everyone gets a nice dinner for two, on the Clave.”

“On the Clave!” Magnus decrees happily.

“And everyone gets to take home a bottle of champagne.”

“Roederer Cristal?” Magnus enquires, but Alec doesn’t follow the reference. Magnus gently reminds him, “The one you liked at the _Shangri-La Paree?”_

“ _Oh_ , of course,” Alec smiles, shooting a put-upon look of snobbery down his nose, “Everything else tastes like watered down _horse piss_.”

Magnus laughs _delightedly_ , “Bath crystals from the Dead Sea, so everyone can have a long, hot soak after all the dancing.”

“Custom luxury bathrobes,” Alec suggests, painting the picture with an outstretched hand, “ _Mr and Mr Lightwood-Bane, 2019_.”

“A thousand thread-count egyptian cotton sheets.”

“Fine china dinner sets.”

_“A handful of rubies!”_

“Just a...big chunk of gold right there in the bag. To use as they wish. Pawn it, melt it, use it as a paper weight.”

Magnus decrees once again, _“On the Clave!”_

And Alec joins in, _“On the Clave!”_

Once they’ve settled back, they both re-read the list they’ve made, grinning madly. Magnus turns to him, eyes amused and aroused. He sighs dreamily, “I’m so attracted to you right now.”

Alec leans in, using his hands to cradle his Warlock’s handsome face to him, and he kisses him deep and thoroughly until Magnus’ breath is heavy and scattered across his mouth.

“ _God I love you_ ,” Magnus’ whisper gusts against his lips, and he soaks in the feel of Alec’s warm hands on his cheeks, eyes closed as if to suspend himself in this perfect moment of time for as long as he can.

“I love _you_ ,” Alec whispers back, and he brings Magnus’ hands up to his face too, wanting in on that action. Right here, forehead to forehead, holding each other close and just _being_ , Alec can’t bring himself to think of all the other moments they’ll get to have in the future, because he knows it will make him start weeping tears of unadulterated joy and that’s not entirely intune with the mood he’s trying to build. They’re going to be _husbands_.

He pushes their list to the side and drags Magnus back down into the sheets with him. After all, the clock is ticking on their upcoming union, and Alec wants to give their pre-marital passions a good and thorough send off before the real fun begins.

  
  
  


 

He’s right in the thick of wedding preparations a few hours later when he receives an email from the Consul’s office. His urgent request for a marriage certificate has been approved and will arrive with Aline Penhallow later. It makes him take a pause, because the tiniest part of him that still expects the worst had been holding its breath in wait of an answer. And now that he has it - has official permission to marry - the tension he hadn’t known he was carrying bleeds out of him all at once.

He reads the attached fine print of marital rights, scanning over them like the Clave might have drawn up a hidden set of rules specifically for him. But nothing is out of the ordinary. His name will be added to Alicante’s marriage register, alongside his husband’s. His post-wedding conjugal leave will be approved once his position is filled by a suitable temp. Invoices for wedding expenses will be covered. For someone of his rank, he should be covered more substantially than most. But as Jia Penhallow’s assistant has noted, _“The Consul and her grateful Constituents agree to cover all incurred costs, to illimitable extent if so required.”_

Magnus almost chokes on his own spit.

“They’re really going to pay for _everything?_ ”

“Yep.”

“They’d pay for Queen and gold gift bags and _Lamborghinis?_ ”

Alec sighs. Initially, he couldn’t really believe it himself. But now he does, and he better understands why.

“I mean, if we _pushed_ , I don't think they'd say no. Except, you know. Idris is currently trying to recover from an apocalypse that almost happened. The Demon Towers are having to be rebuilt. The amount of outgoing services is going to be well into the millions,” he nods to himself, “They've offered to cover our wedding, no matter the cost. But if we overspent, we’d look selfish. No doubt it's one of Jia's politically motivated power plays.”

Magnus plonks himself down on the edge of Alec’s desk with a sigh, “The lengths in which your own people will go just to bring you down a notch, when all you’ve ever done is go above and beyond. If I ever have the displeasure of meeting this ‘Jia’, she won’t know what hit her.”

Alec scoots closer in his seat, slides a hand onto his Warlock’s thigh, “We weren’t _really_ going to go that extreme.”

“Oh, I know. But it’s the principal. If I had my way, the Clave wouldn’t _touch_ our wedding day,” Magnus sighs again, “Everyone has already been so gracious and helpful at such short notice.”

Alec, too, is amazed at the generosity they’ve seen in such a small amount of time. His inbox and phone have been run ragged all morning, ever since he sent his request for a marriage certificate. As soon as the news was out, Idris residents began fishing for invites, while others offered their services, free of charge. Magnus has experienced much the same, with friends, acquaintances, even his favourite clients coming forward with wishes to help. The Institute was currently full of Shadowhunters and Downworlders, all working - in genuine, friendly _unity_ \- to hang silks and arrange flowers and install candle lamps and fairy lights. For _them_.

The Institute’s head chef and his team were being helped by former Jade Wolf employees. Seelies were turning the main foyer into a dreamy, woodland haven. Maryse and Luke were taking point on seating arrangements. A newly Mundane Raphael was helping the Institute’s residents set up dinner tables and place settings on the outer edges of the hall. Catarina and Madzie were helping people with last minute clothing alterations. Jace, Clary, Simon and Isabelle were running errands across New York city, gathering supplies. _All for them._

Their wedding is coming together through donations and offers, because there are more people excited about their day than they could have ever prepared for. People are _invested_ , Alec realizes. They’re supportive and helpful, but invested because of what it all means. For the two of them. For their people. For others like them. For how it might change the landscape of their future.

And Alec smiles. They never needed extravagant. And they certainly don’t need the Clave’s help to make it happen. They have their communities coming together around them, and that’s more than he could have hoped for. The only thing he _had_ hoped for, was recognition. For himself, for Magnus. For the life they plan on having. Now, they’ll get it.

“They’re going to recognize our marriage in official Clave documents,” he says now, with a gravity that is only just beginning to dawn on him, “Our names will be in Alicante. You’ll be known as my _husband_ in all Clave accounts from now on, and I’ll be known as yours. The first ever documented case in history...As someone who didn’t think I could even have the permission, it’s _a lot_ to me.”

Magnus smiles upon him, leaning down to kiss the space between his brows, his nose, his mouth. All with quiet, soaring love. He gives pause once they’re smiling again at each other, “Then that’s all I want from them, too.”

Alec takes the moment to enjoy it, to get a little vulnerable as Magnus’ adoring eyes pull the emotions from him. He scoots his chair closer between Magnus’ knees and winds his arms about his middle, presses his face hard to his belly and breathes him in. His Warlock’s hands rub the expanse of his back, kneading the nape of his neck, combing through his hair. It’s _all_ a lot. Marrying the man of his dreams. Having friends and family that are as happy about that as he is. That Magnus even asked him after everything he’d put him through. That the supporters and the enthusiasts outnumber the opposed, a hundred to one.

But it’s an _a lot_ that Alec is very willing to get used to. One day, it might even be considered normal.

He pulls away, just enough to look up into Magnus’ beautiful face. His favourite face in the whole world, “Besides, it keeps the Clave in our debt. You never know when that might come in handy.”

Magnus throws his head back with a roarous, surprised laugh, and Alec holds on a little tighter, smiling into the vibrations.

  
  
  
  
  


It’s a week later when they finally settle into holiday mode at the Four Seasons, all the way in the Maldives. Their things are strewn about their sizeable room, ready to start the fun. Their apartment suite stands completely open to the spacious deck and infinity pool and wide, blue sky.

“ _Look_ , Alexander. Not a cloud in sight,” Magnus beams, as they take the first sips of their honeymoon cocktails and stretch out onto their sun loungers.

“Would _you_ have had anything to do with that?” he asks, and his new husband shrugs, the picture of innocence. A bold-faced lie. Alec smirks.

“It seems the weather is a fan of us too.”

_“Uh huh.”_

He’s done chuckling when his phone pings from the table, which has Magnus side-eyeing him, _hard_. He goes to turn it off, but finds an email notification from the Consul’s office. He taps into it just to get a glimpse - just to check if the world is ending - and finds a short, excited message from Aline with an attached image. He tilts his phone sideways to get a better view.

It’s a photo of Idris’ Marital Register, with pages spread wide. He zooms in.

It’s there, freshly written. The latest entry, signed and dated.

_Alexander Gideon Lightwood-Bane to Magnus Lightwood-Bane. Formally Lightwood._

He hands his phone over to Magnus, “Look.”

Magnus lifts his sunglasses and squints. And then the smile that slowly overpowers his face begins to plump his cheeks and crinkle his eyes, until his nose is scrunched adorably, “It’s official.”

“It’s official,” he agrees, and another weight he hadn’t known he was holding lifts away. He turns his phone off and snuggles back down on the lounger.

He’d received an email from the Consul’s office only yesterday, enquiring about wedding expenses as no invoices had been sent. To say he wasn’t a little smug about his own powerplay would be a lie, especially with how often and how consistent Magnus was in letting him know just how much he _admired_ it. But they hadn’t needed the Clave’s help. Alec hadn’t wanted the Clave’s last minute olive branch, not now that the battle to be accepted had been hard fought and won without them.

Alec had politely declined, using a nicer arrangement of words. _Kill them with kindness_ , Magnus had encouraged him. And he couldn’t agree more. Because being the bigger, better person was who he wanted to be.

They soon get interrupted again by the lovely concierge staff who had helped settle them in earlier. This time, they come bearing gifts - a large, complimentary bottle of champagne and a gift box of artisan chocolates, both different and even _more_ ridiculously luxurious than those already provided by the hotel.

Once the staff are on their way back out the door, Magnus opens the box of chocolates and holds one up to Alec’s lips. They’re delicious to him, decadent, but they clearly also pass the centuries-old taste test of a fancy immortal too, if Magnus’ _sinfully_ pleased moan is any indication. Alec grows aroused just from the sound of it.

Finished with his little chocolate orgasm, Magnus makes a grab beneath the box, where he spots a small card peeking out. He hands it over, too occupied with the remaining chocolate in his mouth to form actual words, “ _Mmm mmm_.”

Alec flips it open and reads.

 

_A lifetime of love and lasting joy to you and your new spouse_

_Best,  
_ _Consul Penhallow_

_By Honor of the Clave_

 

Magnus sips on his cocktail, “Who dares interrupt our honeymoon?”

“The Clave,” Alec turns the card his husband’s way, and gets a scandalized look for his efforts.

“ _They_ dare?”

_“They dare.”_

“Are they _tracking_ us?”

“I had to submit a travel itinerary as part of my leave,” Alec explains, giving the card one more glance before sliding it under the corner of the box, “My whereabouts need to be officially on record in the event anything goes wrong. End of the world type of stuff.”

Magnus grimaces, “Morbid.”

“I know. But hey. I think this could be classed as the Clave trying to one-up me on my own honeymoon. Thoughts?”

“Oh, I am highly amused,” Magnus gleefully confesses, “How quickly my husband has his own government wrapped around his little finger. It’s very sexy.”

Alec immediately warms to the word _husband_ , and drops Magnus one of his lopsided grins, the ones he knows his _husband_ likes so much, “Oh? How sexy?”

“Oh very,” Magnus chuckles, removing his sunglasses. He leans across his lounger to get closer, conspiracy in his tone, “The sexiest.”

They share a kiss, one that tastes of freshly squeezed orange and mango. And top shelf vodka. And expensive chocolate. And newly wedded bliss. And an unburdening of lifelong hurts. It’s a kiss that feels all-consuming, teetering on the edge of heat, yet as safe and soft and warm as a summer’s nap. Heart and home. A kiss Alec will remember forever.

“Who would have thought? The beautiful, sunny skies of the Maldives,” Alec murmurs, lets his lips brush his husband’s besotted smile, “my dream guy...and expensive gifts from the Clave, all in the same day.”

“How does it feel?”

“I feel like I’m standing at the top of the world.”

Magnus strokes a finger, light and tempting, along the line of his jaw, “And how’s the view, my love?”

Alec looks deeper into Magnus’ eyes then; his _husband’s_ eyes; and sees not just the same, boundless love he always does. He sees happy, sunny mornings and the joys of domestic routine. He sees love, spoken and unspoken, actioned and passionately made. He sees them as fathers, with their children; as uncles with their nieces and nephews, hosting sleepovers and parties and rune ceremonies, healing hurts with magic and sadness with hugs. He sees the changes ahead, how they’ll grow into them together, how they’ll find new joys and new challenges in unexpected places. He sees the overwhelming intensity of eternity, and it reminds him of how lucky he is. He has important work ahead and things to put in place, so that their life together keeps his husband warm when he no longer can. It’s a challenge he’ll humbly and happily and gratefully accept. And it all starts now.

He kisses Magnus again, because he can’t not, and squeezes his left hand, feels the wedding ring out with his fingers because he never wants to look away from what he has in front of him. He smiles, because he has no words. Nothing he says will adequately describe how it feels to be held in his husband’s eyes.

And Magnus smiles too, warm and kind and iridescent, because he understands. He tips forward for another kiss - a deep, all-having kiss - before he returns his sunglasses to his eyes and shuts away the growing sheen of his joyous tears.

He snaps his fingers and magically joins their loungers into one, and Alec rolls over to lay against his husband’s hot, bare chest. Closing his eyes.

 _Sun_.

  
  



End file.
